The tragedy of South Africa today is that we are all consumed by street politics - and our leaders are loving it, happy to promise a tomorrow that will never come. The biggest threat we now face as a nation is our sinking economy.Yesterday the International Monetary Fund cut its growth forecast for the country this year to 0.1%, a figure that should spur all of us into action.But this is South Africa, so we brush off the news and act as if nothing has happened.The confirmation of our abysmal economic performance should change the tone of our elections, not to mention the course of this country.It cannot be that a country that seemed so full of promise just a few years ago is now on the verge of zero growth.This is the time for all of us to take to the streets and demand action - now and without politicians' double-talk.This is the time for all our political parties to rally behind an economic vision that will take us out of this morass.But all we hear as the parties campaign for our votes are more empty promises.None of the parties actually has any real idea of how to kick-start this economy. How are they going to increase economic growth sufficiently to create jobs and attract direct foreign investment?It is important that we change the political narrative. The cult of personality will not save us. We need sensible strategies.Today we face our biggest challenge since the 1990s when we navigated the tricky path towards democracy.The Treasury has vowed to cut unnecessary government spending. It says it expects growth and employment to be supported by several structural reforms and state interventions.It remains to be seen whether we will be able to turn the corner fast enough to prevent the ratings agencies from hitting us with the humiliation of junk status at the end of the year...